The purpose of this site is not to obtain feedback
from others. It is, rather, a forum where people can write their
thoughts and feelings as an alternative to pen and paper, can share
their writing with others for the purpose of assisting those who are
still struggling, or just to vent feeling around urges, possibly
preventing slips and relapses.

James Christopher arrested his addiction to alcohol on April 24, 1978.
He initially attended Alcoholics Anonymous, but broke from AA early in his
recovery due to his discomfort with the AA approach. Staying sober with
his own "Sobriety Priority" program, he went on to found SOS
(Secular Organizations for Sobriety / Save Our Selves) in 1985. He
arranged for the first SOS self-help support group to be held in 1986 in
North Hollywood, California, on a Monday evening in November, after giving
public lectures and authoring numerous articles dating back to 1984. The
key article, "Sobriety without Superstition," was published in
the national periodical Free Inquiry and received worldwide response from
recovering alcoholics and addicts, treatment professionals, and the media.

Christopher has since authored four books: How to Stay Sober
(Prometheus Books, 1988), Unhooked (Prometheus Books, 1989), SOS Sobriety
(Prometheus Books, 1992), and Escape From Nicotine Country (Prometheus
Books, 1999). He was a contributor to Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive
Textbook, 3rd ed. (Williams and Wilkins, 1997).

SOS has grown from one meeting in Los Angeles to a database of over
20,000 members worldwide. Each SOS meeting is autonomous and held on an
anonymous basis at no charge to participants, and stresses Christopher's
"Sobriety Priority" abstinence-based self-empowerment program.

Christopher has appeared on over 300 radio and television shows, and
the SOS alternative has received extensive coverage in hundreds of print
media feature articles including the Los Angeles Times, the New York
Times, the Manchester Guardian, Newsweek, the Journal of the American
Medical Association, Glamour, Playboy, Modern Maturity, Professional
Counselor, and Sober Times.

SOS has been publishing a quarterly newsletter since 1987. The US
Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration includes SOS in its
official literature; the US Congress Employee Assistance Program
subscribes to the SOS Newsletter; and, since 1987, the Los Angeles Court
system, as well as numerous courts across the nation, have offered SOS as
a viable recovery choice to persons mandated to attend a self-help
program.

Since its inception SOS has had both friends and meetings. Meetings-as
with any self-help peer support group-wax and wane. An SOS friend, I've
observed over the years, may be an individual who starts or attends an SOS
meeting (or not) long term (or briefly) and values SOS for having
"been there" when needed.

Typically, many SOS friends are "freethinkers" and
"non-joiners" and may not attend SOS meetings regularly after
they reclaim their lives. They stay sober and "get on with their
lives." Through the process of the deliberate "leaderless"
SOS approach, they become the leaders of their own lives (by tf techmelissa). Some choose to
help with SOS meetings; some choose to not do so, but most SOS friends
choose at least to "check in" with SOS from time to time. Many
SOS friends stay connected via the SOS newsletter, the SOS web sites, and
the SOS chat groups.

They may be regular financial contributors to SOS°≠they may help with
various projects such as SOS prisoner outreach. Since the SOS
self-empowerment approach allows folks to reclaim their own power, SOS
friends tend to develop an individual "internal locus of
control."

Q: What is SOS?
A: Our name says it all: Save Our Selves and Secular Organizations for
Sobriety. This is what we are. We hold that sobriety is a separate issue
from all other issues. Sobriety is our priority, and the sense of urgency
of our "sobriety priority" is conveyed via our acronym, SOS. By
achieving and maintaining sobriety, we can Save Our Selves and experience
individual recovery, i.e. human growth, self-esteem, empowerment, and
learning, without mind-altering chemicals or debilitating habits.

Q: Which words, if we were to pin a label on SOS, would best
describe the atmosphere/environment of an SOS meeting and the persons
attending?
A: Freethought and freethinkers.

Q: Are non-secular or religious/spiritual persons welcome?
A: All who seek sobriety/recovery are welcome. Some members of SOS are
secular or non-religious, while others hold their religious or spiritual
beliefs as a separate issue from their sobriety.

Q: What program does SOS offer?
A: SOS does not require a belief in a "higher power," nor does
it offer a "spiritual 12-step program" or "design for
living" as AA does. We utilize a suggested strategy for achieving and
maintaining sobriety called the "sobriety priority." However,
all pathways to sobriety are respected.

Q. What meeting format is used? Are SOS formats standardized?
A. SOS does have a suggested meeting format. However, each meeting is
autonomous, and, in practice, formats vary considerably, reflecting the
desires of the individual group. In SOS, the meetings are as unique as the
members.

To sum up: sobriety, recovery, autonomy, - that's SOS.

SOS Recovery
Connections contains general information re: some of our
meetings (times, dates, location, contact persons, etc.). This information
is listed alphabetically by state and then, within each state,
alphabetically by city.

SOS Recovery Connections also lists -- alphabetically by state
alphabetically by city, within each state -- SOS "sites of
activity" i.e., there could be a new SOS meeting in the planning
stages, or a new SOS meeting already in place or SOS friends to contact in
the area. The code shown -- along with state, city and zip code -- is SOS
International Clearinghouse (ICH) and the twenty-four hour phone number
for SOS. THIS IS TO PRESERVE CONFIDENTIALITY AND TO PROVIDE A "LAYER
OF PROTECTION" FOR OUR SOS FRIENDS AND MEETINGS.

SOS Recovery Connections clearinghouse volunteers will make every
effort to put those requesting support in touch with folks in their
geographical area or to help them start a new SOS meeting in their area.